Taika Waititi Spearheads COVID-19 Charity Reading Of ‘James And The Giant Peach’

Taika Waititi, the man behind “Thor: Ragnarok,” is heading a charity drive featuring a reading of the Roald Dahl classic “James and the Giant Peach.” He has also enlisted an all-star cast to help him secure funds for the coronavirus efforts.

The director is also behind such works like “The Mandalorian” and “Jojo Rabbit.” He will be hosting a complete reading of the book, split into 10 installments, Variety reported. The stars joining him for this effort include Cate Blanchett, Cara Delevingne, Lupita Nyong’o, Mindy Kaling, Ryan Reynolds, and Sarah Paulson.

The readings for “James and the Giant Peach” will be available on the YouTube channel for the Roald Dahl Story Co. The first two series of readings have already been made available yesterday, May 18. The first episode features “Thor” Chris Hemsworth along with his brother Liam, alongside Nick Kroll. Episode 2 features Meryl Streep and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Waititi has already been involved with the Roald Dahl Story Co. earlier in the year. The Oscar-winning director signed on to direct, write and produce two original animated series for Netflix. These animations are based on the author’s other work, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” He is also directing another Star Wars film for Lucasfilms.

Other stars are also included in the star-studded cast headed by the award-winning director. Josh Gad, who himself has spearheaded relief efforts for COVID-19 works, is also joining the fundraiser with Billy Porter, Cynthia Erivo and Beanie Feldstein, KTLA reported.

The director shared how he enjoyed reading the book to his daughters. He also said he was excited to be able to partner with his friends, the Dahl team, and Partners In Health in the effort to re-tell the story for charity.

Ophelia Dahl, the daughter of the author, said that their father had “instilled the notion that imagination will spark a chain reaction of possibilities.” This was, perhaps, the driving force behind making the celeb-studded relief-gathering efforts for the ongoing fight against COVID-19 a reality.